O'Hare bypass probably a tollway

November 11, 2004|By Virginia Groark, Tribune staff reporter.

A proposed highway that would provide western access to O'Hare International Airport by linking the Northwest and Tri-State Tollways around the airport's western edge most likely would be a toll road, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority's executive director said Wednesday.

The other part of the project--extending the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway east to O'Hare--would be the responsibility of the Illinois Department of Transportation, said Jack Hartman, the tollway's executive director.

Hartman made his comments after the tollway's Finance-Administration Committee voted to send intergovernmental agreements that outline its role in western access to a full board vote next week. The committee's decision comes one day after the DuPage County Board approved the two agreements plus another one that does not involve the tollway.

The fate of the roadwork hinges on the availability of federal funding. Local officials are optimistic that House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who is from Yorkville, will make sure money for the Elgin-O'Hare extension and the southern stretch of the bypass road is included in a pending multiyear federal transportation bill. But the portion of the highway that would extend from Thorndale Avenue to the Northwest Tollway probably will not be built for at least a decade, Hartman said.

"I doubt they'll have enough money to go north for another 10 to 20 years," Hartman said. "That's Phase 2."

The tollway included the 5.5-mile southern part of the bypass from Thorndale Avenue to the Tri-State in its long-range plan but did not include money for it. Hartman expects the road to cost about $700 million. The tollway would pay about 20 percent, or $140 million, but it is unclear where that money would come from, said tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis.

Hartman is counting on the federal funds to pay for the remaining $560 million. If the plan becomes a reality, it would mark the first time the tollway would build a road with federal assistance. Using federal dollars would require the tollway to abide by certain federal regulations, like achieving a certain level of minority business participation, an issue the tollway already is focusing on as it embarks on a $5.3 billion overhaul of its system.

In other business, the tollway is preparing to move forward with widening sections of the Tri-State and Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway.

Next week the board will vote on adding $250,000 to an appraisal services contract for land acquisitions along the Tri-State between 95th Street and 163rd Street, and between Naperville Road and Illinois Highway 59 on the Reagan. The tollway does not know how many parcels will be affected, McGinnis said.

The tollway board also will vote next week on a contract to clear land in anticipation of the construction of the Interstate Highway 355 extension. Hartman hopes the land-clearing work will begin by Thanksgiving.